We all know not to time the market, but when are some instances that you did time the market and it worked in your favour (of course with due diligence done) 😂?

Hi there,

It's important to understand what "timing the market" means. I completely agree that nobody can TIME the market.

However, I think there is a huge misconception that deviating from DCA equals timing the market which is extremely false. If that's the case, Professional investors/traders in investment firms or banks or those that do these for a living will not be able to make profits consistently.

Fundamental analysis, technical analysis, intrinsic valuations and market sentiments can guide you what is a relatively good price to buy at and if at the point of time the technicals show strong levels of support of possible reversal.

It's the same as if were were to buy our favourite shoes/clothes or bag etc... If the item was something we were waiting for a sale for a long time and there was a 50% discount, will we not be happy to buy it? Sure, 1 week later the store may sell it at 70% discount instead but you also risk the odds of missing out on a 50% discount.

It is impossible to say " Oh in 2 weeks or 3 months time the market will move down 10% or up 30% to this level." That's trying to predict/time it.

However, it is very possible to know that if just for an example, say Apple were to move down to $70 per share today it is an extremely good buy at such an undervalued price for a fundamentally strong company. Sure, after you buy at $70 it could go down more to $60 maybe $50 but over the long run, $70 would have been a solid buy and have a high chance to give you a high return on investment. Why would you only put in a small amount at such a discounted price?

"When it rains gold, put out the bucket" - Charlie Munger

We cannot predict/time the market, but we can certain READ it. June and September corrections were fantastic technical analysis examples, if you understood the market. Those were great months with the correction for hedging my portfolio and adding more long positions.

Let me know if you would like to understand the difference, i'll give you an analogy and show you the difference.

In general, timing the market is not advisable, especially for long term investors. The only exceptions are when you recognised that it is a bear market (stock market crashed) and you can time the market by buying good companies stock at low prices.

Also, you can use simple technical analysis to confirm if the prices that you are buying the stocks are at a reasonable price. This includes Simple Moving Average (SMA) for 50,100,200 days